Spook Trench
Somewhere in the ocean, far from where the tides lapped the coasts, the briny depths lay perfectly still in the afternoon heat. Small masses of white ocean froth sailed lazily along these doldrums, undisturbed. Gently, a small bubble rose to the surface, followed by more, until, wreathed by more bubbles, a stoppered bottle popped into sight. Hot on its heels came another, and another. As gently as they started, the surfacings ceased, and the bottles were taken away by the inscrutable drive of the currents. One floats through the chilled dark waters from which spring tall glacial ice floes. Another floats by day through the murky rapids, bounded by the thick jungle foliage and accompanied by the shrill cries and rustic buzzes of the wild birds and insects. At last one arrives in a vast inland lake, slowly bobbing in clear waters, where thrashed by the foamy licks of a passing boat, it is adroitly wrested from the brine and held between it rescuer, one of the three sailor brothers. He offers it to his brothers to see, calling their attention in a shrill voice. He opens it and begins to read its contents to himself. Looking up, they faced one another before turning in unison to face a great dome gleaming in the sunlight, steep and round like a massive turtle shell. Although Big Green had been rebuilt inland, retaining naval power had necessitated that an outpost remain at the water’s edge. Fortunately, spare parts from the enormous battle machine that they had built were left over, and a dome was constructed to resemble a smaller Big Green. Maybe on some level, it served a nostalgic purpose as well, a reminder of when the great carapace had rested on the waters. The naval base was now home to the Sailor brothers, and within the hour they had summoned Commander ApeTrully, who brought with him First Squad. One of the brothers began reading aloud. “It is with great pleasure that we receive your invitation. We would be delighted and honored to join in friendship, and we feel that none should be deprived of the amicable bonds of companionship. We happily accept your offer. We sincerely hope this letter reaches you in time. Best regards, Pengyou.” ApeTrully looked puzzled. “Who is Pengyou?” he asked. The Sailor Brothers looked at one another. “We believe that it is from a dialect only spoken very deep in the ocean. If you look at the paper, it is actually made of kelp, which is harvested in a certain deep sea trench.” “It sounds like they’re responding to a message,” said Mystique Sonia. “But perhaps not a message that we sent,” added Lin Chung. Mighty Ray glared. “How do we know this isn’t a trick? Like when HighRoller set us up so he could kidnap Cammander ApeTrully? “I fear it is a risk we have to take. Big Green must be open to friendship with all the animal kingdoms.” ApeTrully’s voice was level; his mind was made up. “And I have a hard time believing HighRoller could write something so sappy,” Sonia agreed. “However,” squeaked one of the Sailor Brothers, “we will need a way to reach the ocean floor.” He observed a map on the wall, and pointed to a dark region. “Here.” “Lant-tern-fish King?” chittered Jumpy. ApeTrully turned to face him. “I am afraid that the Lanternfish King has not been seen in several weeks.” “I believe I can be of some service!” Tugging listlessly on his moustache, Woo the Wise strutted into view. “I have been adding improvements to my invention, the Reinforced Calabash Submarine.” Within the hour, Sammo Whale was powering through the water, a reinforced calabash submarine bolted to the underside of his harness. Building speed, he progressed steadily deeper, until at last, he spread his massive fins and halted. With a discharge of bubbles, the submarine shook free of its restraints and plodded gently into the murky darkness below. “Engaging floodlights!” announced Woo, to no one in particular. He had insisted on coming on the mission to accompany his upgraded deep-sea vessel. Internally, he could see himself sweating anxiously. The last submarine had nearly succumbed to the pressure last time, and he didn’t relish being crushed by the weight of an entire ocean. “Full speed ahead!” The submarine’s lights illuminated the eerie crevices of the sea floor. The beams crawled over the rocky bottom, as the wake of the submarine pulled a gray murk through the darkness. The light attracted the sea’s smaller animals, which scampered around the calabash hull, twisting and slinking and squirming. Animals like he had never seen sparked Jumpy’s imagination, and with wide eyes his gaze followed their passage by the window. Some had lights of their own, others, great pointed teeth. All of a sudden, the circles of faint yellow illumination on the seafloor fell into a vast darkness, as the submarine pulled out of a massive stony trench. As if they had fallen, the piercing beams simply vanished in the darkness, where nothing living could be seen. Jumpy looked over his shoulder just in time to watch ApeTrully gaze at the map and announce the near vicinity of their destination. The sub settled into stillness, floating a short distance above the trench. Gradually, a pink tint slithered over the rocky walls from the purple glow of Harmonic Energy, protecting Lin Chung as he slipped into the frigid water. His eyes darted about, before he took a breath, and, concentrating, summoned more Harmonic auras to protect his teammates. They filed out and emerged into the black water. With a kick, Lin Chung began his descent deeper. The four kept their eyes peeled, possessing only the faint light of the Harmonic Energy to spot potential threats. They went deeper and deeper. However it was possible, the water seemed even darker and colder here. Mystique felt on the verge of shivering until she saw something out the corner of her eye. “What was that?” In a moment Jumpy saw it too. Mighty Ray reached into his jacket for a banana, while Lin Chung called upon more energy, focusing it onto his hand, creating a stronger light. Swinging his hand around, he trapped the figure in the brightness. Pressing itself against the wall in fear was a truly bizarre looking fish. Its body was pale, with long spindly finds, and oddest of all, four eyes. It writhed a little, looking almost sheepish. Lin Chung held up his other hand, instructing his teammates to hold their fire. At the same time, with his hand still glowing, he slowly pulled out the bottle they had found. The fish’s eyes widened. It began to swim, as though beckoning the team to follow. They did so, progressing through the length of the trench, until they encountered more such fish. After a moment, one of them seemed to come forward. It dipped its head repeatedly, as though attempting to bow. Then it spoke. “So it is you! You are the ones who made this offer of friendship! We gladly accept!” It bowed several more times. Lin Chung’s brow furrowed. “Yes… we are Big Green. The fish paused for a moment. “We have not heard of a Big-Green. Did you send the bottle?” “What bottle?” asked Mighty Ray. “We came here because we got a message in a bottle.” “Then you did not send us a message?” asked the fish, disappointedly. He straightened. “Well, no matter. The Spookfish offer friendship to all.”